


A Stab in the Dark

by ShaineRaizel



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, D/s relationship, F/M, Multi, Past Child Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Sexual Abuse, Past Torture, cannon alteration
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-06
Updated: 2016-02-23
Packaged: 2018-04-08 01:37:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4285683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShaineRaizel/pseuds/ShaineRaizel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Hell needed more than just the boy king to try to win the war?  And what if that other human was wrapped up with their boy king in one way and Gabriel in others?  So Sam  never went "dark side"?  And what if Team Free Will had more than just the three members?</p>
<p>This is a story that answers those questions and shows what happens when people (and supernatural beings) come together to fight destiny with bonds of love and trust.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All Supernatural characters are not mine. I am just borrowing them for a bit. All other characters are mine.
> 
> This work is only partially beta'd. I'm sorry for any mistakes.
> 
> Currently I have only 2 and a half chapters written. I don't know how much I am going to be able to write. I am going to start publish a chapter a week. That may slowdown though depending on what us happening in my life. I don't plan on abandoning this story till the main story is done. If there is interest I may write more. Either ore or post this main one.

Hazel Grace Turner is over and done with abandoned houses. Yeah it saves money she simply does not have, but the usual lack of water and electricity is starting to be a serious issue. She has not had a proper shower in more than a week and her laptop’s battery died somewhere around that time too. Guess it’s research and killing the baddies the old way then…..

She is in a small town in Illinois, in yet another run down, abandoned house. If you were to ask her what town, she wouldn’t be able to tell you. All she knows is that there have been numerous disappearances in the town and they were all 18 to 30 years old. No bodies, no witnesses, just gone. It definitely tips the old odd-o-meter. There was a meeting in town later that night for the family and friends of those that had disappeared. She had just enough time to freshen up and swing by the local grocery store for food and maybe a few necessities before the meeting in town hall. 

She leaves almost everything in her battered black Jeep Cherokee. Only taking in a jug of water, her HBA (health and beauty) bag, and a change of clothes. Unfortunately, for a case such as this, she wouldn’t dare wear her “normal” clothing. Her usual attire is long flowing skirts in black and darker colors, tops are usually tank tops that look like old school corsets or peasant blouses, and usually a cloak. So to say that most people would find her odd is an understatement. Of course she has a few outfits just for hunting. A few pairs of ratty old jeans and plain tanks and t-shirts, and a few suits. Also, one of her favorite items, an old Stanford hoody that is several sizes too large her because it wasn’t hers, not originally anyway. 

Once she has dragged everything into the house and up the stairs to the bathroom, she takes inventory of her curvy 5’8” self. She has slimmed down some since she started hunting again, but she still has curves to get the job done. But that isn’t what she is going for tonight. Tonight, her and her “fiance” have just moved to town and he went missing last night or this morning (she will figure it out when she hears how the others disappeared). So she figures a pair of ratty jeans and a t-shirt and the hoody since it is still colder out. She pulls her waist length black hair on her head in a messy bun and washes her face and a few other places. She throws on her clothes and a pair of old tennis shoes, grabs the now empty jug, her earlier outfit and bag, then heads down the stairs and out the door.

Once she is situated in her Jeep, she takes stock of her funds. She doesn’t have much left. Probably just enough to get her through this job and to somewhere else to find a job. Hunt some, work retail some, repeat as needed since she is not good at getting money the “hunter way” and she does not want to stoop to selling herself. So she will make due. She is thinking about getting two jobs though. She figures one just will not cut it this time. She is down to three hundred and she needs food and gas. Plus she is out of iron supplements and she can not survive without those. And she needs to at least book an extended stay wherever she is off to next as she can’t get a job without an address. 

At the local grocery store she picks up the largest bag of generic cereal she can find and looks at the cost of iron. As usual, it is astronomically priced. She just can’t afford it, so the bland generic fortified cereal will have to do. She misses the sleek, black ‘67 Imapala that enters the parking lot as she is leaving it. Though she has only seen that particular car one other time, it probably wouldn’t have registered had she seen it.

The meeting at town hall is everything she expects it to be; mostly parents and/or friends with pictures of the missing. When they ask her for a picture, she thinks quick. They were new in town and they haven't gotten to unpacking that stuff yet, as there were more important things to unpack. And he had just gone missing this morning, having gone out for his run and never came back, which was why she hasn’t reported him missing yet. But she just knows something is wrong, he wouldn’t leave her like this. Afterwards there is punch and various baked goods and lots of people talking in smaller groups.

“Hey, you look lonely over here all by yourself. My name is Matt and this is my wife, Stacey. It’s nice to see someone new in town. Sorry you had to get caught up in all this though.” An older gentlemen says while rubbing his right hand against the back of his head.

“Thank you. My name is Emily.” Hazel says shyly. She knows better than to use her real name. Names have power and she doesn’t plan on just giving that to anyone.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what brings you to our little town?” Matt asks while he sits down beside Hazel. And Stacey, well, she was headed for the refreshments. 

“We were looking to settle down in a small town far away from where we were.” The lies comes easy to Hazel as she has done this countless times. “Let’s just say there are alot of bad memories there.”

At that, Stacey returns with three cups of punch. “Here you go sweety. Figured you could use a drink since Matt here is likely to keep asking questions.” She smiled politely.

“Thanks.” Hazel responds taking the offered cup and downing most of the small cup in one go. And then the rest after a breath. “Sorry, its been a long day and I realized I haven’t had anything all day.”

“You poor dear. We will have this all sorted and your man will be back to you in no time.” Stacey says smiling like she means it.

Hazel gives a small smile back, all of a sudden feeling really dizzy and faint. Shit she thinks. I know I haven’t taken my iron in a while, but I should not feel this dizzy. She glances bleary eyed at the two next to her, taking note of the smug look on their faces. Damn it! It was drugged! What the hell is going on arou-….at that she promptly passes out.

~~~~~~~

When Hazel comes too she is in what appears to be an old style community jail cell. It is pretty dark but she can see that it is the only one. She is shackled to the wall by an ankle and a six foot chain. The cell itself appears to be not much bigger as she can at least touch all four walls. She has no clue how long she had been out as she had opted on not taking her cell and she doesn't wear a watch. They took her cheap pocket knife which is solely for distraction purposes. It is a cheap thing that isn’t even sharp. Most find it and stop looking for other weapons she “might” have on her person. She can still feel the blade that is strapped to her right ankle. It only comes off when she is showering or sleeping and even then it is always within reach. 

The man that calls himself Matt comes within view of the cell carrying a small lantern. He gives her a wolfish grin and says, “So I bet you are wondering why you are here?”

Hazel looks up at him in contempt but says nothing from her position seated on the floor.

“You see, this town has had more than its share of bad luck. So we decided to change it. We have been making offerings to various gods in return for favors.” At this his eyes rake over her form. “Yes, you should do nicely.” 

A few hours go by and Stacey appears and hands her a sheet of paper. With an incantation in English on it. “You will learn this, or you will die.” She says blithely. 

Hazel snatches the paper from her hands and starts to read. She has to suppress the mirth that bubbles up from within. She had been hoping it wasn’t going to be one of the few gods that still took human offerings seriously. At best she figured she would get one that knew her and would get her out of there, or take her to her “dad” or her “grandparents”. She never hoped she would be an offering to her her own “family”! She grins and wonders if they would try to kill her if she recited the right incantation in Old Norse considering their translation was utter crap. With nothing left to do but wait, she sits back and eventually nods off again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She is jarred awake by the cell door being thrown open and two people being shoved in and the door slamming shut again. She had her back to them so she figured she could pass as still being asleep till their captors left. Shortly after the door creaks shut again she hears a whiney “sonovabitch” from a male and a long suffering sigh from the other.

The other, obviously male, says. “Ok theories on what we are dealing with?”

Sam?!? Hazel thinks listening in. That can’t be Sam, can it? I mean he didn’t act like a hunter… and at that she realizes he kind of did. He hid it well, but looking back, she could see it. The always looking over his shoulder and not trusting many people. Even a few small things in the apartment that were protection symbols. Huh, well here goes nothing. She thinks as she decides to make her presence known. “Two things,” she states while rolling to stand, back still to them. “First I am guessing our “hosts” have yet to clue you in as to why we are here, And two, hello Sam.” she says while turning around.

Sam stares at her in shock but then rushes forward to catch her as she sways dangerously and very nearly passes out. “Hazel?!?” he asks incredulously as he catches her. He promptly sits with her cradled in his arms and pulls her close. “What are you doing here?”

She hums happily at the warmth radiating off him as the cell floor was anything but and responds “Guess we both left out pieces of our past,”

“You are freezing.” He states and tucks her closer. “And I am guessing you forgot to take your iron for a week again?” He says with a small, fond smile.

“mmm Not forgot” she mutters sleepily. “Don’t have any. Plus they drugged me.”

“That’s not good” He mutters. “Wait.” He says more forcefully. “You actually know why we are here?”

“Yup.” She says popping the p. “Offerings to pagan gods. Norse ones to be exact. Nothing to worry about. WE aren’t in any danger.”

At this Dean chimes in. “What do you mean we aren’t in any danger? Aren’t we the offerings?”

“Yeah, but most gods today don't actually take the human offerings. And those that seem to, well, there is a town full of “offerings” and their descendants that the gods watch over. And since Loki was the one to actually start it, we are fine.” She says matter of factly. And then she mutters “Now the town on the other hand better hope i can calm dad down.”

Sam gives her an odd look as he actually heard that and quietly says “You and I are going to have a long talk later.”

“mmm Yeah. Later. Preferably after we get ourselves out of here, and here isn’t a crater.” she ends sarcastically. “Sleep now, you are much warmer than the floor,”

Sam laughs and Dean moves to sit next to him, but only because it is cold. Hazel drifts off while the brothers talk quietly.

“So, guess we now know where Hazel disappeared too.” Dean states “Now you can stop searching for her every spare second you can find.”

Sam sputters. He had thought that he had kept that search to himself. “How did you know i was still searching?”

Dean just gives him a look that says “i am your older brother, of course I knew.”

San just sighs. In the ensuing silence they both drift off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~

They are startled awake sometime later by the cell door being slammed open. Matt and a few other men came in with handcuffs and guns. The trio was promptly cuffed and Hazel unshackled. Then they were dragged roughly to their feet and forced at gunpoint out of the cell and up a narrow, winding staircase. It lead up to the inside of a small house that was on the edge of a field on the outskirts of town. There was a generic altar in the center of the field that Stacey and a few other women were decorating In the pre-dusk light. They are herded over to the altar and shackled to it by an ankle each.

Dean busied himself with the items in the altar. Hazel turns to Sam and says with an excited gleam in her eyes. “So, do forgo their shitty translation and recite the original in Old Norse?”

Sam smirks. “You would know that wouldn’t you.”

“Yup.” She says, again popping the p, and grinning up at him. “Granted it isn’t because I learned it at Stanford. I have known this particular incantation for a long time.” At that her smile fades and she looks at him in all seriousness. “Sam, I never really lied, I just, left out a few, err, ALOT of things. And it’s gonna get weird for a bit, but I need you to trust me, ok?”

Sam steps closer and cups her cheek reassuringly. “Hazel. Of course I trust you.” He glances over to the altar and asks, “So, what do we need to do?”

Hazel then turns and moves to the alter. She take the large brass bowl from Dean’s hands and puts it on the side of the altar where Sam is, knowing that if he wasn’t holding the bowl, he would try to stop her when she had to add her blood. The rest of the items she moves to the other side by Dean. She knows the spell will make her dizzier so she looks up at Sam and asks, “Do you think the chain is long enough for me to sit up here?”

Sam glances down then back up. “Should be.” Then, without Hazel having to ask, Sam moves in front of her, picks her up, and sets her down in the center of the altar.

She smiles up at him then hands him the bowl. “Here, might as well start mixing. The incantation will need to be said soon.” She looks between the two, Sam watching her and Dean playing with the short dagger. “Either of you have a hanky or something like that?” 

Sam shakes his head no and glances at Dean who still has the dagger in one hand while fishing out a white one from his jacket pocket with the other. Sam then turns sharp eyes to Hazel, who is busy mixing dried herbs and things in the bowl, but doesn’t say anything. 

A few minutes later Hazel states, “All done, except for the chanting and the blood. Oh look, here they come.” She smirks. Then she addresses the towns people that gathered. “I hope you know what you are doing.” At that she starts to chant in Old Norse, surprising the townspeople. Not even thirty seconds in she reaches out to Dean for the dagger. She takes it and cuts a diagonal line across her left palm in the head line. She continues the chant, this time squeezing her left hand above the bowl and covering the herb mixture with her blood. As soon as it is completely covered she stops. Sam puts the bowl back on the altar, grabs the hanky from Dean and ties it tightly around Hazel’s hand. 

All of a sudden there is thunder, and Hazel is grinning widely. “Just wait. They should appear on the other side of the townspeople.” She says while motioning with her head forward. Sam and Dean turn and face that way, flanking her. Just then lightning strikes down opposite of Dean. And there is a barely audible snapping of fingers right after. When they could see again, what looked like two men stood facing each other, one where the lightening struck and the other, much shorter one, opposite Sam. 

“Brother” The one down from Dean states.

“Hey Bro.” Returns the shorter one.

Hazel hears Sam and Dean groan at the same time that lightening strikes down behind what Sam and Dean realize are now Thor and Loki. When it clears, Odin can be seen standing there. He clears his throat and says, “So, which one of you is going to tell me why my GRANDDAUGHTER was the one doing the summoning?”

In that instant Thor and Loki turn to face the altar. Hazel smiles and waves with her right hand. Then Loki is in front of her, grabbing for her left and healing it instantly.

“Hi dad.” Hazel smiles at him then sways a bit. He steadies her then he realizes who was on either side of her. 

“You just had to find these two chuckle-heads.” He grins.

“Dad. Not now. Please. I want to get out of here first. Then I want to know what EXACTLY you have done.” At that she is glaring at him. 

Loki sputters and crosses his arms. “Fine.” He snaps and the shackles fall off of the three of them. “But first,” He turns towards the townspeople. “I am gonna take care of them.” And he raises his hand to snap.

Hazel grabs his hand before he can do anything. “Why don’t you let Pops and Uncle Thor deal with them. You can get us our stuff and get us out of here.” Hazel knew her dad was seething even if he didn’t look it. And she seriously wanted to avoid changing the landscape. Plus she knew that this wasn’t even a fourth of the town.

Odin walked to the altar with Thor behind him. “Hazel,” he spoke once there. “What exactly were they planning?”

“Not entirely sure. Something about offerings in exchange for favors to benefit the town. That's all they told me.”

“Hmm. Very well. Loki, get them out of here. Thor and I will deal with this rabble.”

Loki looked like he wanted to protest, but one look at his daughter’s pleading face, he caved. “Alright. Hazel, where are you staying?”

“All my stuff is in my Jeep, just need the keys back.”

“And you two?” Loki asked addressing Sam and Dean

Dean looked like he wanted to smash something, if not outright kill something. Sam on the other hand just looked confused. He cleared his throat and said, “The motel on the other side of town, but we need our weapons and the keys to the Impala back as well.”

Loki nods and looks to whom Hazel recognizes as Matt. “Where are they?”

Mark mutters a response too quiet for the humans to hear but Loki vanishes and reappears a few seconds later with the missing items. He hands the boys their stuff with a sigh. He can see something between Hazel and Sam and he knows she is going to drag him into a long conversation sooner or later. He keeps Hazel’s keys as he knows she is in no condition to drive. Before he can suggest they start walking towards town, Sam moves towards Hazel, turns around and bends slightly so she can get on his back. Which she does gratefully since she is still light headed. They then head back to town and to the cars, where Sam helps Hazel into the passenger side of her Jeep. He is about to ask Loki for her keys, but Loki says, “Go with your brother, I need to talk to her first. We will meet you at the motel.”

Once it is just Loki and Hazel in the car, Loki glances at his daughter and says, “Ok, out with the questions.”

Hazel sighs. All she really wants to do right now is sleep, but she knows that she shouldn’t, not till she eats some cereal. But there are conversations to be had as well. So she asks, “What did you do to them?”

Loki cringes briefly. His daughter knows him too well. He sighs and says, “Well, they were the hunters at Crowford Hall. But, uh, I kinda went overboard when I was messing with Sam, at, uh, themysteryspot.” He said the last really fast. He had told Hazel about that, but not who it was, and with the way the two acted together, he knew she was going to be upset.

“WHAT!?!?!!!!” Hazel yells. “Your groundhog day prank was Sam?” Still yelling, but then she gets quiet. “Why?”

Loki sghs. “I know Sam isn’t the type I normally target, and honestly it was a last minute, split-second decision. And truthfully, I kinda panicked. I know what's coming, and I wanted to prepare him, but I think I went about it wrong.”

“Ya think?” came Hazel’s sarcastic answer. “So, care to clue me in?”

“Probably should talk to the boys first. Want to tell me why you were all buddy buddy with the younger chuckle-head?”

“Well, I am wearing a shirt that once belonged to him.” Hazel pauses there. Loki throws her a look that means she better elaborate, and soon. She sighs. “Remember when Jess and I got an apartment with someone else?” At Loki’s nod she continues. “That someone else was Sam. And, well, the three of us were, um, kinda, well,” she bits her bottom lip.”um, together.” She finished quietly while looking at her lap. She chances a glance at her dad, and when he doesn’t say anything or acknowledge her, she rushes to continue. “I know it doesn’t make sense, but for us it just felt, right.”

Loki looks deep in thought. “I wonder…” He trails off, lost in thought for a few seconds then he continues. “When human souls were created, soulmates split rather quickly. Father said it was because it hurt them to be separated. But there was this one soul that was doing everything it could not to split. Father and I were fascinated. Especially when another soul nearby, one that wasn’t destined to be a soulmate, came and wrapped itself around the splitting soul to comfort it. We watched as the soul split slowly and when it was done the three were so wound up together you almost couldn’t make out the third separate soul from the two pieces of the soulmate one. It would make sense as to why.” He trailed off.

They sat like that lost in thought for the last few minutes of the car ride. Hazel’s mind was adrift. Loki was thinking that if that was the case, no matter if Hazel and Sam were the soulmate soul or just half and the other soul, then maybe, there was a chance at stopping everything before it got out of hand. Er, well, more so than it already was anyway.

As Loki pulled into the motel parking lot beside the Winchester’s he got a call. Hazel missed the entire thing, still lost in her mind. It took her dad three times calling her name and gently shaking her to get her attention. “Thor called. He said he and dad are having problems. I am going to go back and help them. Call me when you need me to come back for explanations.” And with a snap, he was gone.

Hazel sighed and got out of the jeep and made her way to the back. It looked like she would be sleeping in the back of her Jeep again. But maybe if she was lucky she could shower and charge her laptop in Sam and Dean’s room. As she started pulling things out and rearranging, Sam came over and asked if she wanted anything to eat. Conscious of her ever dwindling funds, she told him no and went back to trying to make space in the trunk. She didn’t see Sam frown in thought before he left with Dean to get food. 

It wasn’t long at all before they were back. But it was long enough for Hazel to have a small bag packed and placed upfront for what she would need for a shower and and a clean change of clothes. Also up front was her laptop bag and a few other things so she had enough room in the back for her to curl up under a blanket and try to get a few hours of sleep, She was so busy with making her “bed” she didn’t see the brothers come back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Dean and Sam got out of the car, Dean went to Sam and asked. “Is it me or does it look like she is planning on sleeping in her car instead of getting a room? I mean, it isn’t like this place is full.” He made a vague gesture at the rather empty lot.

Sam frowned in contemplation as he watched Hazel fluff and toss a ratty looking pillow in the back of her car, then pull out worn and faded blanket and giving it a few shakes before she started to put it in the back as well. “Dean.” Sam said, leaving the question unspoken, but Dean heard it anyway.

“Yeah Sam. It's your bed your sharing anyway.” He smirked. But if he was honest he was glad they had found Hazel. Now Sam wouldn’t be alone in three months. He gestured with his head at Hazel then turned to their room carrying in the food and leaving Sam to it.

Sam walked up to Hazel, he was near silent, being a hunter conditioned him. He knew he was going to startle her. He always did, but she was always easy to sooth. It never failed to amaze him how much she trusted him from the beginning. He had a small smile on his face as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. As predicted she jumped but when she breathed in his scent and he gave her neck a small kiss just like he always had done she melted in his arms.

“Hazel, you weren’t, by chance, planning on sleeping in your car when there is a bed not 20 feet from here.” He said quietly while pulling her closer and breathing her in. 

Hazel inhaled shakily. Sam was making it hard to let go. She knew when he heard the whole story he wouldn’t want to so much as look at her let alone hold her like this, like he did before he knew the truth about her past and how she got Jess killed. She closed her eyes against the tears that threatened to fall and took a breath to steady herself. “I don’t have alot of money left. I need to save it so I can find someplace to work for a few months or so.” She knew he wouldn’t let her pull away so she settled for looking down, almost ashamed but more resigned.

And that’s when Sam knew she either didn’t plan on staying around, or, and this was more likely knowing her as he did, she doesn’t think she will be welcome much longer so she was putting distance between them. He sighed and tightened his arms around her. Something must have happened, but he planned on never letting go. “Hazel, please, you don’t need to get another room. Just let me hold you, at least for tonight. I missed you so much. I love you, always.”

Hazel couldn’t hold back the tears any longer, though she tried. They burst forth in sobs the wracked her small frame. Sam gently turned her in his arms and pulled her close, let her cry into his chest while he rocked her and rubbed her back. Neither knew how long they stayed like that, till Hazel got herself under control and was able to breath without sobbing. When they pulled apart Sam wiped the tears that were still trailing down her cheeks, then cupped her face and placed a small kiss on the tip of her nose. He smiled as she scrunched up her nose and smiled a little smile. How he ached to see it reach her eyes, but he would take the small steps where he could. He kissed her forehead lovingly before pulling away.

“Let's get your stuff and head inside. I got you food anyway.” Sam smiled at her. Her returning smile was a bit bigger. She made to get the bags from the front but Sam beat her to grabbing them. Once inside, Sam pulled out her laptop and plugged it in without Hazel having to even say anything. Dean handed Sam a bag of food. He had finished his burger and fries and had moved on to his pie at this point. He was reclining on his bed surfing the few channels they got before settling on some old western movie. Sam just rolled his eyes at his brother before setting out the salads he got for him and Hazel. He also got her a brownie, but he wanted to make sure she ate her salad first since she was already showing signs of dangerously low iron. He pulled out two bottles of water from the small fridge and turned to Hazel who had slumped into one of the small chairs at the table. “Hazel,” he said quietly, “where is your iron?”

Hazel looked down at the table. “Told you I didn't have any. Haven’t for a few weeks at least. And before that I was trying to stretch it.” she looks down. Then grumbles, “Which is why they were able to drug me, should have been able to tell.”

Sam just sighs. Making plans to head out for a “run” in the morning like he usually does but instead going to get Hazel her supplements, then breakfast for the three of them. He sits opposite of her and says, “Well, at least eat.” Then he smirks, knowing now where she got her sweet tooth, “I may have gotten you a brownie, but all things considered, you need to finish the salad first.”

She looks up at him a smile on her face that almost reaches her eyes and Sam can’t help but hope that before they fall asleep tonight he will see her smile with her eyes alight in happiness again. They eat in companionable silence and when she is finished he hands over the brownie. She finishes it with glee. Dean has dozed off, so Sam suggests she take a shower, knowing her preference on showering at night rather in the am. She nods and with a small smile on her face she grabs her bags and goes to do just that. Sam grabs the remote, turns off the tv and wakes Dean enough to actually get him to lay down on the bed. He tidies up the room then waiting for Hazel to get out of the bathroom so they can sleep as well.

Once Hazel is alone in the bathroom, dark thoughts try to overwhelm her again, but she pushes them back. She wants to pretend, even for a night, so she quickly showers and puts on a clean tank and cotton sleep pants before heading out to the main room and Sam.

When she emerges, Sam doesn't say anything. He already pulled the cover back and was changed and sitting waiting for her. He reaches out for her and she goes willingly. He was half waiting for her to fight, but he is glad she did not. They settle into bed Sam on his back and Hazel tucked against his side. Just like the past year or so didn’t happen and they were still in their apartment at Stanford.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Off to Bobby's!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I own nothing but my own characters.

The next morning, Sam was the first one to wake up. To be honest, he usually was, but it was even a bit early for him. But that was fine. It just gave him more time to do what he needed to do. As he was getting up, trying hard not to wake Hazel, but she stirred anyway. Luckily she was still mostly asleep. Sam just caressed her face and said. “Go back to sleep baby, I’m just going to go for a run.” He had done this plenty of times at Stanford. He had a brief pang of hurt/longing as he wasn’t trying to get out from between Hazel AND Jess, but he roughly pushed to back. He needed to take care of Hazel now. Jess wouldn’t want either of them to wallow, it was just who she was. So he quietly gathered his things and went to change in the bathroom. On his way out he grabbed his wallet, phone, and room key. He left a note for Dean. And on a whim, he grabbed Hazel’s phone. Then quietly left the room.

Once he had moved far enough away from the room that he wouldn’t be heard, he opened Hazel’s phone. Her passcode was easy enough for him to guess all things considered. He thumbed through her contacts, taking a steadying breath before calling the one labeled Dad. 

“Hazel?” Loki asked. Somehow Sam thought Loki knew it wasn’t her on the other side.

“No. She is still asleep. I have a few questions.”

“It can’t wait?” Loki almost whined.

“Not really. I need to know if her supplement plan is the same or if something changed.”

“You still at the motel?”

“Outside of it but yeah.” Then he heard the line go dead. Followed by a snap. “Do you really need to snap or?”

“Honestly, no. But the rest of the gods expect it so I made it a habit Now what's this about Hazel’s pills?”

“She doesn’t have any. And I don’t think I would get a straight answer as to when she last had them, so I was going to go get them.”

“Thats odd. The deal was that she would always take her pills and I would always transfer money, well that and if she needed more to let me know. I know I have been out of cell range, but she has other ways of contacting me.”

Sam frowned. “She was going to sleep in her Jeep last night because she didn’t have enough money.”

“Oh for the love of! Why does this keep happening?!? OK, new plan.” Loki snaps and in his hand is a stack of bills which he hands to Sam “I can’t just snap up her pills. We found out the hard way that they don’t work if I do. Iron, St. John's Wort, as usual. Ginseng and Ginkgo Biloba to help her stay awake. Just one each of the last three in the morning. Iron at least twice, if not three times for a few days to get her levels back up. There should be more than enough there for pills, food, and gas I have a few things I need to get together so she doesn’t run out of funds again. I figure you won’t be staying here longer than you have to. I told her to call me when you guys talk. I will come.”

“I am having a hard time reconciling the you she told us about and now with the you we have met previously.”

“I will explain everything later. You better get a move on, I think your brother is stirring.”

“Thanks for this.” Sam says as he gestures with the hand with the money in it. “I had some but probably not enough for everything.” Sam turns to head into town proper.

“I hope you plan on sticking with Hazel.” Loki says from beside him. Sam isn’t even startled by the fact that Loki was just there, but he was by his words. 

“I do, but she is trying to pull away. Just a feeling that I have. Don’t know why.”

“I don’t know how much she has told you. Her past isn’t pretty and she is probably blaming herself for everything She probably has herself convinced that either you will be safer without her or that you won’t want her around when everything comes to light.”

Sam sighed. “I figured as much. She has always been like that. I thought Jess and I had finally broken her of that, but…” Sam trails off, not really wanting to think about how now that Jess is GONE that Hazel probably blames herself, that she might be punishing herself.

Loki sighed. “I better get going, something tells me I won’t be too welcome once the town wakes.” He smirked and snapped then he was gone.

Sam didn’t realize he was standing in front of the only pharmacy in town. They had walked there without Sam even realizing. It was just opening so he went and got the bottles of pills for Hazel. A quick count of what Loki had given him plus what he had in his wallet and he figured he could grab a few other things their first aid kit was low on.

His shopping done, he headed for the diner, ordered breakfast to go for the three of them then sat down to wait with a paper. His phone buzzed shortly after. Dean was calling wondering where Sam was. Sam told him that he was getting them food and would be back with it shortly. Dean responded that he might just be the best brother ever. Sam told him not to forget it.

Ten minutes later, he left the diner, food and coffees in hand. It only took him a few minutes to walk back to the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not even half an hour after Sam left, Dean woke up with a groan. He did a quick scan of the room, not seeing Sam he got up and went to the table. The first time Sam had gotten up early and went for a run after they were back together, Dean had panicked. So now Sam left him a note on the table (or nightstand if there wasn't a table) whenever he did so Dean didn’t panic. Dean glanced at Hazel asleep in Sam’s bed. She had pulled Sam’s pillow close and was snuggling with that. He decided to grab a shower before the other two would need it, though looking closer at Hazel her hair was still damp, so just Sam then. 

Dean decided to be an awesome big brother and not use all the hot water since Sam would need a shower even if he was just walking to the store, which Dean kinda thought was the case.

When Dean emerged from the bathroom Hazel was awake and dressed in a dark grey and white maxi dress and was brushing out her hair.

“Morning Hazel.” Dean said. Hazel smiled shyly and returned the morning as she shook out her hair and went to put on the Stanford hoodie. 

“I take it that was Sam’s originally.” Dean said as he gestured to the hoodie she was now wearing.

Hazel smiled looking down at said hoodie. “Yeah. I am always cold and I think Sam wore this a total of twice in the year he had it before he gave it to me to wear then refused to take it back.”

“Well, I am going to give Sam a quick call to figure out where he is.”

After the call, Dean turned to Hazel and said, “He is getting us breakfast and should be back in 10 or so.” He watched Hazel sit on the other bed. Her hands were clasped in her lap and she was staring down at them. She had given barely a nod when He had said that Sam would be back with food. Something was not right. She looked like she was preparing herself to lose everything. He didn’t know whether to hug her or try to slap some sense into her. He chose to distract her instead.

“Hey, Hazel. What did Sam tell you about his family anyway?”

Hazel looked up, almost seeing through him for a second before shaking out of her previous train of thought and answering Dean with, “Well, he said a serial arsonist set fire to your house when he was just a baby. Your mother was caught in the fire trying to get him out and she didn’t make it. After the guy made bail and disappeared your dad decided to become a bounty hunter to catch the guy and any others like him. He never caught the guy, but plenty of others. You guys grew up on the road with him, never staying in one place for more than a few weeks, maybe a month at most. He said you two were close but when he decided that he didn't want to stay in the family business it got strained all around. He said he didn’t leave on good terms and while he didn’t think your dad would ever welcome him back, he tried to call you a few times. I was there the last time he tried. You had gotten a new phone number I guess, because he got the disconnected message. He was never quite the same after that.”

Dean look contrite. “Honestly, I was glad he got out. I knew this would kill us. I never wanted that for him. I stopped by to make sure he was alright a few times, so did dad. We saw that he was content, happy even. Neither of us wanted to ruin that. Guess we still could have kept in touch, but I didn’t think it was for the best. Then dad went missing and I couldn’t find him for more than two weeks. Even if we were working seperate jobs, we still checked in at least once a day, even it was just to leave a message. I didn’t want to pull him away, but I knew if anyone could find dad, it would be Sam. It was just him and Jess there though. Where were you?”

Dean didn’t sound like he was accusing her, just curious so she answered him. “I was with my big sis. We had a family emergency and I was needed.” She didn’t want to go into too much detail then have to repeat it again later. Besides, Dean looked satisfied with just that for now.

“What is your story anyway?” Again Dean was just curious.

“How about I tell you what I told Sam. That way you are on the same page. Like I told him yesterday, I never exactly lied, just left out a lot, you now, for the civvies.“ She smiled at that then got serious and took a deep breath. “My father was, er still is I guess, a grade a asshole. On my fifth birthday he beat me so bad that dad found me half dead in his front yard. Not that he didn't beat me before that, but that was the day i met dad. We lived in the middle of nowhere in Washington. The next neighbors were about a half mile each side. One was dad and big brother, the other was Jess and her family. Father continued to be an asshole and I sought refuge with either dad or Jess. Dad took over my homeschooling. He let me learn whatever else I wanted as long as I also did what I was supposed to for the program we used. It was great.” She smiled at that. “When Jess and I were fourteen, we started dating, well, as much as forteen year olds date anyway. But shortly after that her dad passed away, And her mom couldn’t keep their farm. She got a job in Palo Alto. Jess tried to get her to take me but she didn’t want to go against my father, and I didn’t blame her.” 

She took a breath to steady herself then continued. “Then on my fifteenth birthday some of my father’s friends showed up and took me away. Father let them do whatever they wanted to me as long as it didn’t kill me. I wasn’t supposed to be at dad’s till a week after my birthday so he didn’t realize I was missing till I didn’t show up. He tried to call the police and report me missing, but since my father told them I was just sick they didn’t do anything. Dad and big brother split up to look for me. It was big brother that found me on my sixteenth birthday. When I was well enough I went back to tell my father I wasn’t going to be living there anymore. I was going to pack my meager belongings and move in with dad. When I got there though, I watched my father kill my mother. Someone else had to be suspicious. Probably the homeschool board since I missed a whole year without so much as a peep, because there was a police officer there as well. He took me away and put me in protective custody. I tried to tell him that I had somewhere safe to go, but he wouldn’t listen. It was a few weeks before I could contact dad, and by that time I was being shipped off to Jess and her mom in Palo Alto as per my mother’s will.”

Hazel decided to stop there. It would only get worse before it got any better. They stay in silence for awhile, each lost in their own heads. It was to this silence that Sam came back.

“Hey, food.” Sam said as he placed the bag of styrofoam containers and the cup carrier of coffees on the small table. He then dug through the pharmacy bag for the bottles of iron and st john's wort. “I called Bobby on the way back.”

“Yeah, “ said Dean as he got up to get his food and coffee. “What did the Old Man have to say.”

“He wants us to stop by. Told him we have a third, said it was fine, as long as we stopped and bought food for dinner. Told him there might be a fourth stopping in and he would have to trust us.” Sam smirked and looked at Hazel who was still lost in herself. His expression fell as he walked over to her and squatted down in front of her to get her attention. “Hazel, come eat. I got you your pills too.” He saw the tears in her eyes but didn’t say anything, just gently took her hand and stood up, pulling her with him to the table. He knew at the rate this was going he would have to drop her into subspace. He was just hoping to have a talk with Dean before he had to do it in front of him. He guided her into a chair and set her breakfast, coffee and pills in front of her. At the smell of food, she came back to herself and gave him a small smile. 

“I am going to grab a quick shower after I eat then we can head out.”

Silence reigned as they ate. Sam ate his omelet and dropped the hashbrowns on Dean’s bed for him then went to take his shower. Of course he had made sure Hazel took both pills before doing so. When Dean was done, he started loading their bags into the right vehicles. Hazel was just finishing up when Sam emerged fully dressed from the bathroom. Dean was waiting for them, so he quickly gathered everything else, gave it to Dean and asked for a few minutes. Dean decided to check them out while he was waiting.

When Sam came back in the room, Hazel was staring blankly at the floor. He went to stand in front of her. A quick trip to subspace would do her good, hell if he did this right he could keep her there for at least part of the drive. 

“Hazel.” He said in that particular tone that left no doubt in Hazel’s mind that she needed to be on her knees and now. She hadn’t been there in so long but she sank to her knees without a thought to fight it. It was almost like they were never apart.

“Oh, baby.” Sam said while gently petting her head and pulling her towards him. Sam stayed that way for a few minutes, gathering his thoughts and letting her sink deeper into her subspace. He then sank to his knees in front of her. Sam cupped her cheeks in his palms and brought her eyes up to meet his. “I love you baby. Always. Nothing is ever going to change that.” A few tears slipped free and Sam kissed them away. “Now, we are going to go to our friend Bobby’s house. You will let me drive while you rest. We will stop about halfway for lunch where you will take another iron. Then I will tell you everything. Dean will go on ahead and get food as Bobby will probably want to grill. When I am done telling you everything, we will get back in the Jeep and continue to Bobby’s. Alright?”

At Hazel’s nod, Sam gave her a quick, yet loving kiss, the wiped any remainders of her few errant tears away. He stood slowly pulling her up with him then out of the room and to the cars. He opened the passenger side door of her Jeep and helped her in and buckled her in. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and told her that he would be around in just a minute. He then leaned out and shut the door and turned to look at he brother. He could feel Dean’s questioning gaze on him. They didn’t have time for a full explanation and all the questions that Dean would have. So Sam beat Dean to the punch. Sam moved closer to Dean and said as quietly as he could, “I will explain everything later, just know that right now she is very vulnerable and one word said to harm her and I will lay you flat.”

Dean nods in acquiescence and says, “Let’s get going then. The sooner we leave the sooner we can be at Bobby’s.”

Sam nods then the boys get in and they drive off. Dean with his music cranked since Sam isn't there to bitch and when Sam gets in the Jeep he sees that Hazel is already half asleep curled sideways in her seat. He smiles softly at her as he plugs his ipod in to her stereo and plays his music quietly so she can drift off for a few hours. He knows that when he wakes her for lunch she will most likely have slipped out of subspace. Honestly that's probably better since he was going to tell her everything. If earlier was anything to go by, he would have no trouble getting her back there if she needed it. They drive like that for three hours, a little over halfway, before they need to stop for lunch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Little did Sam know that Dean saw what had happened in the room that morning. He had been trying to figure it out for the past three hours though he still couldn’t wrap his head around it. So he had also heard that Sam was going to stay here for a bit and talk to Hazel. Sam figured right, he really didn’t want to be here for that conversation, but he did want some answers before he left them. He knew he probably didn’t have a right to them as he barely knew Hazel. But he knew Sam, and while he didn’t think anything inappropriate or controlling (from either of them) was going on, he still wanted to make sure. He was the big brother after all. Besides, he wanted to make sure Sam was taken care of when he was gone. And after what Hazel said back there, his big brother instincts flared up and he was feeling protective of her too.

So when he pulled into the diner parking lot and got out of his car, he gave Sam a look that meant they needed to talk. So, Sam parked beside him and got out and leaned against the closed driver’s door. Hazel was still asleep so he didn’t want to go very far.

Dean, moving to lean across from his brother, and said, “Sam, I saw what you did that back there, and I have been trying to figure out what the hell it was but I just can’t.”

Sam sighed. He figured Dean would find out eventually but he still had no way to describe it. Jess would have been able to. Instead of letting that errant thought hurt, he tried to remember what she had said in the past. And starting with Jess was probably best.

“I had the same knee jerk reaction when I first saw Jess do it. Especially since Hazel fought submitting so much. But Hazel was in a blind panic about something, I don't remember what now, she was furiously pacing and pulling at her hair and scratching her arms so hard there were bloody welts. She was crying and yelling and switching between languages as easy as breathing. And Jess just stepped in her path and said a simple but stern ‘Hazel’. And Hazel stopped, looked at her with wide eyes and shook her head and said no. But Jess wasn’t swayed, she said “Down.” And Hazel quieted and dropped to her knees, hands on her thighs but she was still tense, till Jess gently caressed her face, and all the fight left Hazel and she slumped against Jess. Later Jess explained that with everything Hazel has been through, and she was sure it was worse than Hazel let on, that Hazel needed reminded that she was loved, that she was safe. But she has herself convinced that she either doesn’t deserve anything, or something along those lines. Jess had been trying for the past few years to convince her otherwise. They stumbled on this way quite by accident, but it worked, when she could get Hazel to actually let her guard down. Jess wasn’t necessarily comfortable with doing it, but when Hazel got like that it was the only thing that seemed to work to get through to her. Otherwise Hazel would do even more damage to herself, or she would try to run away convinced that it was the right thing. Jess said she tried both a handful of times before they started college. 

When I first did it, I wasn’t trying. She had some guys messing with her on campus. Leaving raunchy notes on their dorm door, calling at all hours of the night and saying the vilest things. Jess worked at the all night cafe on campus, so when it got threatening, Hazel was alone, so she called me panicked. When I got there she was in much the same position as she was when I saw Jess do it. I never thought to do it, but I had to do something. So I did what I saw Jess do. Never in a million years did I think that she would submit as quickly and easily as she did. I thought I might shock her and we would go from there, but she just looked up at me and then dropped, no fight, just dropped. Something just clicked and I understood. What to do came to me easy, like I always knew. I don’t think I can ever fully explain it.” Sam finished with a shrug.

Dean just sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face. It didn’t seem wrong even if he still didn’t get it. At least he still had three months to make sure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Hazel felt Sam stop and shut the jeep off she started to stir. She probably would have gone back to sleep if Sam hadn’t of gotten out. But she wasn’t quite ready to face him yet so she stayed where she was. Sam was right and she had come back out of subspace, but it wasn’t the easy transition it used to be. She knows she should have fought. That it will only hurt more when Sam see what she “really is” and turns his back on her. She tells herself she won’t do it again; doesn’t deserve him; she isn’t even worthy to be the dirt he walks on. She takes a deep breath to steady herself, then gets out of the car. 

Little did she know her timing was perfect as the brothers had just finished talking right before she opened her door. Dean puts on a smile, says that he is just going to get something quick then get back on the road, then rounds the back of his car and does precisely that.

Sam then turns to Hazel and smiles, thinking he is so glad they found each other, even if it was an accident. Not that he hadn’t been trying. He used every thing he could think of, but he never found a trace. He feels like a part of him that was lost has finally been returned and he can breathe again for the first time since Azazel took Jess from them. 

They get their food to go and take it back to the small park near the lake at the edge of town. Once settled at a shady picnic bench, Sam tells Hazel everything. From what really happened when he was a baby up through Cold Oak and Dean’s deal, finishing up with how Dean’s last year is going (Mystery Spot included).

When Hazel realized that Sam was ever so slightly shaking, she got up and went around the table they were sitting at. She sat beside him and wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. Sam pulled her closer and relaxed in the comfort she offered while he got himself under control again. Once he had, he pulled away slightly and tilted her face up so he could give her a chaste kiss. He was stopped for a moment by the look in her eyes. There was love and acceptance as he figured but the hope there confused him for a second. She gave a small sigh when their lips touched and thats when he realized it was hope that he wouldn’t turn from her when she told her story. Not that he ever planned on it, but he knew it would take a lot to convince her. He pulled her close and she mumbled against his chest. “Love you.” He couldn’t help but answer with a kiss to her head and “Love you. Always.”

After a few minutes, Sam pulled away and said, “We should probably get back on the road. There is still almost three hours road time to Bobby’s.”

“Now is this the Uncle Bobby that I heard do much about?” Hazel asked.

Sam turned from throwing their trash away. He took Hazel’s hand and lead her to the car. ‘Yeah. Though he is more of a dad to me than dad ever was. He was a hunter, but now he just researches and has a phone bank so when hunters pretending to be feds are asked to talk to a super, he does that. Dad and Bobby had a falling out before I hit high school, but I would call him when things got too much. Also, I sent all my college paperwork through him as I needed an address and we moved around too much for that.”

“Is that where you went for breaks before we got the apartment?” Hazel asked curiously.

“Yeah. I really didn’t have to worry about dad showing up. But Dean called once over the first summer. I had answered the phone, but he must not have recognized me. After Bobby hung up, he asked what was wrong with us. He knew how close we were, so he knew there was something wrong. I told him about all the calls that went to voicemail and then the number change. He just sighed and said they were ‘idjits’.”

They had reached the car by then so Sam helped Hazel in before getting in himself. The rest of the trip was spent talking about what all they had hunted and swapping lore. Hazel would switch into Latin every so often to see if Sam could still keep up. He could. She also tried to see if he knew any other language besides Spanish. The answer was not beyond a few words.

They had only been about half an hour behind Dean and with him stopping at the store they arrived maybe fifteen minutes behind him. Sam had stopped knocking before entering Bobby’s home when it became his own while at Stanford. When he had picked back up with Dean, they only knocked the once because Dean beat him to the door. Bobby had given him a funny look as Dean entered and Sam had just shrugged and pointed to Dean. Bobby had shaken his head in response. So, needless to say, Sam didn’t feel the need to knock when they arrived. He was going to call out, but what he heard made him stop. Hazel was already back to reading him so when Sam stopped quietly so did she. Sam knew he shouldn’t listen in, but he couldn’t bring himself to turn away or announce his presence. 

“What’s yer problem boy?” They heard Bobby ask Dean. They also heard things being slammed around in the kitchen.

“It’s Sam. I don’t know him anymore, haven’t since I went to him at Stanford. And all this time it seems like he is holding me at arm's length. I know I wont be here soon, but it has been this way since Stanford and I just don’t get it.”

“Yer an idjit. Of course he is different. He had to go and grow up without you. And it weren't for him trying. How many times did he call you and YOU let it go to voicemail? Then you had to go and change yer phone so he didn’t even have the voicemail to reassure him that his big brother was alright. And when a hunt came up on campus, something that he never saw? He didn’t have his big brother there. When the school told him he couldn’t stay over breaks, he didn’t have his family to go home to. Did ya even know it was him that answered the phone when you called for help on a witch hunt all those summers ago? Boy has been waiting for the other shoe to drop this whole time, especially with everything that's been done to him. He has been desperately searching for a way to get you out of yer deal because he thinks you made it out of some sort of family obligation.”

Dean looked rightly chastised. Sam had quietly moved back to the door, opened it and let it make noise this time. Also he made some noise as he, with Hazel following, moved through the house and into the kitchen. “Hey Bobby. This is Hazel Turner. Hazel, Bobby.”

“Turner, hm. I know that name.” Bobby said while extending his hand for her to shake,.

Hazel returned the handshake and said, “My older brothers are hunters, Mark and Luke. Granted I haven't seen them in years.”

“Helped them out on a case a month or so ago. Got their number here, if ya want.” Bobby offered.

“Maybe tomorrow. Depends on tonight.” and just as she finished saying that her phone rang. Of course it was her dad. She answered it with just a little tremble in her voice. “Hi D-dad.”

“Hazel? Is everything alright? I figured you would be there by now.” Loki said concerned.

“Yeah, yeah we are here. Just...Found out Mark and Luke are still alive. Haven’t started yet, kinda need..” at that she realized the line had gone dead and her dad was standing in front of her and Sam and Dean were trying to restrain Bobby. Which was a good thing since she was pretty much going into shock. And that with her low iron she was starting to pass out. 

Loki caught her before she could hit the floor, scooped her up into his arms and kissed the top of her head. He carried her to the living room and laid her down on the couch. The others had followed and watched as he he smoothed her hair off her face then took the blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over her. Loki figured he was going to have to start explaining before she woke up or Singer might just try to stake him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we finally hear Hazel's story!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry it took so long! As usual this is only proof read by me. Updates will be sporadic to none till the end of October. Then I hope to get on a regular schedule.

Loki sighed as he turned to face the others. Bobby was no longer being restrained, but he had a mean looking scowl while Dean just looked resigned. Sam, on the other hand, looked like he was trying to put a puzzle together, but was coming up a few pieces short. Well, Loki decided he better start with a basic background, then they could get into the details when Hazel woke up.

But before Loki could utter a word, Bobby asked, “Let’s start with how yer not dead.”

Loki gave Sam a look that asked You didn’t tell him? To which Sam responded with a look that said Of course not. Loki decided to leave it for now.

“Well, Singer, the name is Loki, so a bloody toothpick won’t kill me. It didn’t even tickle.” He gave a mirthless chuckle then continued, "You know Mark and Luke. They ever talk about 'Uncle Gabe'?"

"Yeah. They said they didn't think he was human but he had taken to their younger sister, took care of her like she was his own. Wait, you mean to tell me that yer 'Uncle Gabe'?!?" Bobby takes a good look at the trickster god. He is kneeling on the floor in front of the couch he had laid Hazel on. He is gently passing his hand through her hair. He looks at her lovingly, like how a father should look at their child. Bobby is having a hard time processing this so he looks at “his” boys and says, “We should get a start on dinner. Let's go boys.” He turns and he leads the way into the kitchen to help Dean prep burgers and Sam chop up a salad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Once they are gone, Loki relaxes a bit. He is still caressing Hazel’s hair but he is also checking her over, not just on the outside either. He was the only one of Freya’s children to get any of her healing powers beyond faster healing. So he had those as well as his grace to use, though he tried not to use his grace unless absolutely necessary. He doesn't want to be found after all. Though, with the way things are going, he doesn’t think he has much of a choice. He doesn’t want his first family to destroy the earth. He sighs and shakes his head. Now is not the time to be thinking such things. He needs to concentrate on Hazel. Luckily she is fine for the most part. She would have to sleep off the shock. She does need a boost to her iron though. But that would have to wait till she wakes up. Boosting her iron by magic hurt, no matter which way he does it and he wants her to completely sleep off the shock before he does it. Besides, he had promised her to never do it without telling her first.

Not twenty minutes later, Sam comes back in the living room and asks “How is she?”

“Fine for the most part. She will sleep off the shock, but her iron is almost dangerously low. While I can't make her pills, I can boost the iron in her system already. I just tend to do it as a last resort since it hurts her. When she wakes I am going to do it. Just enough to get her back on track.”

“Why not do it now while she is asleep?” Sam asks as he sits on the floor beside Loki.

“Well, if she was just sleeping maybe. I don’t want to wake her too early and send her into shock again. Also, I promised her never to boost her iron without telling her. She should wake soon.”

True to his word, it was only five minutes till Hazel stirred. “Daddy?” Hazel mumbled sleepily.

“I’m here sweetheart.” Loki says as he straightens up and runs his fingers through her hair again.

“Good. Daddy, don’t feel well.” Hazel replies rubbing her eyes like a child.

“Yeah. I need to boost your iron, then you should feel a bit better.” Loki then moves to put one hand on the center of her chest so his fingertips are brushing the bottom of her throat and the other hand on her back directly opposite the first one. 

Hazel braces herself and reaches out. One hand grabbing Loki’s arm the other she fists in his jacket at his side. She then nods that she is ready. 

Sam can only tell something happened by the look of pain on Hazel’s face, but as quick as it was there, it is gone again and the two are relaxing back away from each other.

“Better?” Loki asks as he runs a hand through his own hair.

“Yeah” Hazel sighs as she goes to sit up. She smiles at Loki and Sam. 

Then Dean comes in to say that the burgers are ready. Sam helps Hazel to her feet and the trio follows Dean into the kitchen. Bobby is already seated at the head of the table. Dean sits to his right. Sam pulls the chair out to Bobby’s left for Hazel then he goes to sit beside Dean. Leaving Loki to sit beside Hazel. After their dinner of burgers and salad, Loki snaps up an apple and cherry pie for dessert.

After dinner they moved back to the living room where Hazel sat on the couch with Loki and Sam on either side of her. Bobby sat in his lazy-boy and Dean took a position leaning against the wall.

Hazel gives a long suffering sigh, then gathers herself. She is hoping to leave out some details and have them go on assumptions Not even her dad knew everything and she doesn’t want to have that conversation with him here, nor does she want the rest of them to know.

“My parents never wanted me. They were hunters that met and settled down to have a family. Mother was never kind to me and Father was downright cruel. I know it seems odd that I remember things from before I was five, but I do. I have always been psychic among other things.

“For my fifth birthday he beat me severally. Mark and Luke came and freed me when my parents weren't looking. I think they thought I would run to the Moore’s like I always did. I knew I wasn’t going to live and I didn’t want to go there. Besides, something was calling me the other direction, so I went that way. When I have feelings like that, I am never wrong so I followed the pull. I didn’t make it far till I passed out.”

Loki cut in “I found her in my front yard. Yes I have a house. Several actually. Anyway. She was so close to death, I couldn’t imagine how a five year old came to be that hurt. I knew healing her would be a process so I put her in a guest room in my house. Her older brother and I spent the next week healing her. When she woke, she asked what we were. She knew we weren’t human. It surprised me that she trusted us so easily.”

“I told them it was a human that nearly killed me, my father to be exact. They offered me to stay with them. I probably should have, but I went back for Mark and Luke. Things went back to normal for the next year except Father would be gone longer on solo hunts and I would go over to dad’s then. Mark and Luke had started going with father occasionally, but more often than not they were home too. 

Hazel is starting to space out, hugging her knees to her chest and staring straight ahead. “For my sixth birthday Father came home possessed. The standard devil’s traps and exorcisms didn’t work. He had sulfur yellow eyes and called himself Azazel. He knock the rest of my family out. He tied me to a kitchen chair. He was too gleeful that I was psychic. He kept muttering that he didn’t know how he missed one but that was ok because my role would be special.” Hazel started to shake. “He went to the basement and came back with a gallon jug full of blood. Told me since I wasn’t a little baby I would have to drink the whole thing. He found a funnel and shoved it down my throat. He took his time over the day to make me drink it all. He left me tied up for a week after. The others stayed asleep for the week. When the week was over he just left. It was another two days till Mother woke. She didn’t even look at me. It was yet another two till Mark and Luke woke up. They freed me and helped me get to dad’s.”

Loki picked back up. “We weren’t home. Oden called us back to Asgard the week before her birthday. He said we would be home in time to celebrate with her. Things were worse than we had thought. The Ice Giants tried to invade. By the time we had pushed them back to Jotunheim, It was two weeks after her birthday. Time moves differently in each of the realms. You can easily get confused. It was practically too late to fix anything when we got back. Between her older brother and I, we got a good majority of the blood burned out, but there was still some left. I tried to go after Azazel, but he had gone to ground.”

Hazel started up again “From then till my fifteenth birthday I spent most of my time at dad’s. I tried to only go home when Father wasn’t there. Most of the time I was successful. Dad and my older brother took over my schooling since I was ‘home schooled’ (they could hear the air quotes) anyway. I was behind, but quickly caught up and passed my grade level.” Hazel smile a little bit at the thought of her schooling. “I loved it. I could learn whatever I wanted as long as I also did the home school program. I actually graduated the home school program two weeks before I turned fifteen. I was going to take a year or two and keep learning things with dad before I went to college. But I was kidnapped on my fifteenth birthday by some of my ‘Father’s friends’ (again they could hear the air quotes).”

Loki picked up. “We were planning a party for her. Fenrir, Vali, and Hel were going to show up. We were going to take her to Asgard for the first time. She was going to spend two weeks over her birthday with Mark and Luke, then come home. When she didn’t, I went to ask Mark and Luke if she was still there. When they told me that they smuggled her out of the house a week before, we panicked. Even though I get along with Oden and Thor much better than the myths say, I still have quite a few enemies among the gods. I along with Fenrir and Vali went to Asgard to start a search there and among the gods. Her older brother and Hel went the demon angle. They didn’t find her till her sixteenth birthday. I was sent on a wild goose chase by Baldur (they could feel the hate drip off the name) and wasn’t easily reached. Hel found me a week after they found Hazel and we left right away for home. It was another two weeks before she was fully healed. 

“We were going to get the few belongs she had and move her into the house fully. But when we got there, It was to see the demon kill her mother. There were two cops there already. I have no idea why. But when they heard the shots, one came around back. They saw Azazel, granted they didn’t know it was a demon but anywho. He slipped the cops and ran off into the woods. They let Hazel stay with me, I had a human guise that I used to officially take over her schooling, so with that they figured I was safe. A few weeks later they came to take her to Palo Alto and to the Moore’s. I didn’t really fight it. I did insist on talking to Mrs. Moore. Good thing too, The state of California declined her medical care. So I provided. I also insisted on her going to a therapist. One that knew the real way of the world. I tried to get her out of high school. That only sort of worked. She pretty much reported to the school in the morning then went off to the community college for classes. Mrs. Moore didn’t stop her from seeing me either. She actually insisted on it.”

“I couldn’t sleep. I would have terrible nightmares no matter what and I would scream and wake everyone up. Jess figured out that if I slept with her they weren’t anywhere near as bad. We didn’t figure the panic attacks till a year later. I didn’t know anyone but Jess and James at school but that didn’t bother me, I was never really there. First semester senior year I got done with my Tuesday/Thursday classes early. They let me come back for the last period and sit in Jess’s chemistry class. I would get there as they were changing classes and would meet her there. On the way one day mid semester one of the jocks came up behind me grabbed my ass. I went into a full blown panic attack. Luckily Jess was right there. After that I just went to dad’s new apartment after classes. Dad and Jess convinced me to apply to Stanford. Jess and I always wanted to go.” At this Hazel starts crying and it gets worse the more she says. “I should have known he would come after me. Dad and I tried to ward the apartment. I don’t know how he got in. It shouldn’t have been possible.” At this she is very nearly sobbing.

Sam pulls her onto his lap and wraps his arms around her. He had been holding back tears since he heard about her getting kidnapped by demons for a year and now they were silently flowing down his face. He buried his head in beside hers and was whispering to her. 

Loki looked at the other two. Dean motioned with his head towards the kitchen. Bobby grabbed three beers from the fridge and they went outside to give the other two some space. 

After the beers are passed around, Dean is the first one to pipe up with a question. “Why didn’t you ever go after her parents?”

“OH, I wanted to. Believe me. But Hazel still wanted to be able to see her brothers. And while her brothers never got beat like she did, it still wasn’t nice for them either. I never could convince them to move in though. So I stayed away as best I could so I didn’t make it worse for them. Now if the occasional thing went wrong or something happened that kept her Father away for longer……”

“That’s another thing.” Bobby piped up next. “I thought Azazel possessed her Father?”

“Azazel never stuck to just one body. It was why I never could find him. He did seem to prefer her Father though. And I think when you killed him he was possessing her Father.”

“So, why do you call him her father? S’not like he is beyond biology.” Dean this time.

“I didn’t want too. I was out voted because Bastard Sperm Donor was too long of a name.” Loki smirked. 

“Who is this ‘Older Brother’ you keep talking about? Bobby again. They seemed to be tag teaming Loki.

“We don’t use his name because names have power. He’s one of my adopted children. Only Fenrir, Jormungandr, and Hel are mine biologically. I found Vali on a walk in the woods with Fenrir when Jorm was just a baby. No matter what you hear Sleipnir isn’t really mine and is a long story for another time. I have three other adopted children besides Hazel. None of them are human and only her ‘Older Brother’ is adopted officially. He didn’t like that I didn’t fight the authorities to keep Hazel. He thought she would be safer with us. And while that is probably true, I wasn’t going to keep her in a bubble. She isn’t officially adopted either. I knew she wanted to go to school, so I let her and kept her safe the best I could. He decided he didn’t want to live with me anymore and took off back where he came from. I did try to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen. I don’t know what’s happened to him and I can’t find out safely. So we are careful not to use his name.”

After that they finished their drinks in companionable silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Sam pulled a sobbing Hazel onto his lap and buried his head along side hers. Ignoring his tears, he begins mumbling sweet endearments in her ear as he pulls her as close as he can. When the others leave he relaxes a fraction. He can now get her out of the despair loop she had put herself in using all the means at his disposal instead of just the “normal” ones.

Focusing only on her he realizes she has been muttering under her breathe from the second he had pulled her to him. The majority of the mix was “I’m sorries” and “Don’t leave me’s”. She has dropped into an almost trance like state. The tears had stopped flowing but her arms had remained locked around her stomach. She was hunched over and stiff against him. He needed to get through to her. He quickly decided to take her upstairs into the room they would be sharing as this would ensure privacy. He hadn't wanted to explain things to Dean as it was. He really doesn’t want to explain to Bobby, or even worse, Loki.

He adjusts his hold on Hazel and stands up to head upstairs. That seems to start to break her out of the trance. She stops mumbling and tightly grips the front of his shirt. “Shh Hazel, it’s alright.” He whispers comfortingly. “We are just going upstairs.” Sam doesn’t know how much she really processed what he said, especially since the grip she had on his shirt doesn’t lessen in the slightest. The only thing he could do was to continue on.

So up the stairs he goes. Straight to the room that was his when the stayed with Bobby. Once upon a time it had had two twin beds for when they stayed there with their dad. Bobby, of course, had the master. His dad had one of the smaller two bedrooms, leaving the boys to share the other one. It seemed so long ago that he and Dean had cleaned out what was supposed to be the guest suite downstairs and moved the twin beds into it. They had gone out and purchased an inexpensive queen bed for this room. 

It was on the edge of that bed that Sam now sat after having to manipulate the door closed with a foot and shoulder. He tries to go for gently bringing her out of it, but he doubts it will work. He calls her name softly while rubbing her back. He repeats her name a few times but nothing happens. He really doesn’t want to shock her out of it, but better to get her out of the trance and comfort her afterwards than leave her in it. 

Sam lets out a weary sigh knowing it is going to be a long battle to get Hazel back to where she was at Stanford. So much has happened, and she probably wasn’t as alright as she seemed then. He knows she glossed over things. He has a feeling that things were worse than she ever let on. All he can do though is stick by her, be her rock. 

Straightening up Sam gets into what Jess would call “Dom mode”. He says her name in that commanding tone. She starts and looks up at him with wide eyes. He looks back, still in command mode but encouragingly. She slides off his lap and kneels between his feet. Sam lets out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. The trance is broken. She is on the edge of subspace. Now he can work on reassuring her and building her back up from the pieces she tore herself into since Jess’s death.

“Oh Baby.” Sam whispers lovingly as he caresses her cheek. Hazel’s eyes slip closed. She has slipped into that subspace where she is more open to believing things that she wouldn’t otherwise. All because Sam says them. This was what he and Jess had called subspace. Hazel never relaxed, never let her guard down, except here. This is where they brought her when she was panicking, when she was too hard on herself, this is where they built her up with love and care. It was here where she believed them. The only two people she ever truly believed and now it was just Sam. And she was in more tattered pieces than she ever was at school. He knew it was going to take awhile to fully build her backup, but she was worth it. He planned to never give up, never let her go. Now to just convince her.

“Baby” Sam says as he cups Hazel’s face in his hands and bends forward so that their foreheads are as close to touching as he could get them. He closes his eyes briefly to gather his thoughts. He wants to pull her onto his lap and hold her close, but he knows she needs this first. “I love you. Always. Nothing has changed that. Nothing will ever change that. I’m not letting go.”

Hazel lets out a whispered, “Sa-am?” Almost like she is making sure she is hearing him right. 

Sam wipes the tears off her face. “None of it was your fault. He wanted to split us up, weaken us. I have been searching everywhere for you. I still don’t know who or what to thank for bringing us back together, but I am so glad we are. I’ve missed you so much.” He pulls Hazel up off the floor and into his arms. “Please stay.” he says with a hint of desperation. He can’t lose her too.

Hazel lets out a broken sigh that sounds more like a sob. She grabs the front of his shirt and buries her face into it. Sam just holds her till she relaxes against him again. He knows she still doesn’t believe him, but her not fighting him is huge in his mind. He figures after the day they have had, getting some extra sleep is a must. He needs to go get their bags from the living room so they can sleep. He goes to move her to the bed beside him but her grip on his shirt tightens when he tries. “Hazel, I’m just going to go get our bags so we can get some sleep.” Her grip loosens and she slides off his lap onto the bed. 

Sam gives Hazel a once over to see her curl in on herself. Sam sighs as he turns for the door. He is lost in his thoughts on how to get through to Hazel as he heads downstairs. Loki startles him when he asks about Hazel. Sam responds that she is still pretty out of it. He hopes a night's sleep will do her good. Loki agrees and leaves them to it. Sam leaves Dean and Bobby downstairs and goes back to Hazel. She is in the exact position she was in when he left her. 

“Baby.” Sam says softly. “Let’s change for bed. Don’t have to sleep yet. Just want to hold you close.” He then backs away, just enough to give her room to get up and change herself. Sam strips down to his boxers and throws on a clean tee. Hazel gets up slowly with a sigh. She takes her clothing queues from Sam though and strips down, her back to him. She pulls out her black tank and puts it on before turning back to Sam. She walks over and sits back on the bed to wait for Sam. 

Sam had snuck out to the bathroom and when he returns Hazel is sitting on the bed, facing away from the door, and staring off into space. Sam sighs and runs his right hand through his hair. He stands there thinking, trying to figure out how to get through to her. He is afraid that it will take another breakdown or more to really get through to her that he still, and always will, loves her and will never leave her.

Hazel, through everything, since she had got quiet, was trying to figure out how to keep Sam safe. All she could think of was to leave, but she didn’t want to. Even if he deserved someone so much better than her. He deserved Jess, not her. She was broken, flawed, used, dirty. And trouble, since demons were always after her. She knew she was being selfish by not telling him the truth of that year. It was bad enough that she knew she was nothing; she didn’t want Sam and her dad to look at her like that. 

Hazel was jarred out of her thoughts by Sam caressing her right cheek and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Baby, OH Baby.” he says as he wipes the stray tears off her cheeks. Hazel had no idea that she had started to cry. Sam sits on top of the bed with his back to the wall and pulls her into the v of his legs. Pulling her tight and wrapping his arms around her, he began to sing quietly “All I Ask of You”, humming during the female parts. He could feel her slowly relaxing into him till she was pliant against him. He then maneuvered them so they were lying under the covers, Sam on his back with Hazel tucked up against his left side. It wasn’t long before they were both asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

It was a handful of hours later that found Hazel entrenched in a nightmare. The demons had found her and Sam. They captured them, tortured them. They wanted to drag her back to hell. Sam got in the way, tried to save her and they killed him. In the midst of her screaming struggle, her dad showed up, responding like he always did to her distress, that was until the demons revealed what she was. Dream Loki stuttered to a stop, then turned his back on her! She begged and pleaded for him as the demons dragged her away, but he wasn’t swayed. Before she was completely out of earshot she asked that he at least bring Sam back. He didn’t deserve death because he chose to side with her. Dream Loki sneered at her, told her he wasn’t going to. It was a fitting punishment for a dirty whore like her. Plus, with Sam dead, there was no apocalypse. Problem solved!

Hazel woke with a start. She turned to look at Sam. He was still asleep. Good. At least she hadn’t been screaming and thrashing like usual. As she processed her nightmare, she realized she couldn’t stay. She was only putting them all in danger. She had to get up, get out, keep moving, keep them safe. With one last teary look at Sam she mouthed “I love you” then slipped from the bed to gather her clothes. Once she had them all gathered and was headed for the door she realized she forgot her phone. Sam had put both of theirs on the nightstand last night. She turned to get it, she didn’t want them tracking her, but she wanted to try to explain to Sam why she left before she ditched her phone. Turning back was a mistake because when she saw Sam, her dream overlapped reality and all she saw was the broken, dead, Sam from her dream lying there. She figured she could always send an email or letter or something. She turned to go, but all she could see was Sam, lying dead in a pool of his blood. All because of her. All conscious thought fled her as she saw her dad sneer at her over Sam’s body. Her duffle slipped from her fingers as she slipped more and more into panic. She dropped to her knees just moments later, trying to gasp for air but she just couldn’t breathe at the vision in her mind's eye.

~~~~~~~~~

Sam woke when Hazel first sat up. He had always been a light sleeper. Even back at Stanford, he woke up when either of the girls had gotten up to go the the bathroom in the night. He figured this was no different. He was just starting to drift back to sleep when he hear a quiet bump followed by a much louder thump. He was up in an instant. He figured Hazel fell and wanted to make sure she was not too terribly hurt. The sight that greeted him wasn’t what he was expecting at all.

Hazel was on her knees, back to him but facing the door. Her duffle was on the floor in front of her. He could see that she was in the throes of a panic attack by the way she was breathing. Sam quickly got out of bed and practically ran around to get in front of her as fast as possible. The look on her face nearly broke his heart. It was a mix of betrayal, terror, and grief. He ached to fix it so she never had that look on her face again. He dropped to his knees as quietly as he could. No need to wake up anyone else if he didn’t need to. Besides, if he had any hope of getting her out of this panic attack, it would be by means he wasn’t comfortable the others witnessing just yet.

“Hazel, baby, you with me?” Sam asks as he slowly reaches out to caress her cheek. But before he is even halfway there, she startes, falls back on her butt and scoots backwards till her back is against the bed. The panic attack has amped up and she is violently shaking along with the gasping for breath and vacant eyes. Sam realizes he needs help. By the time he had met them, Hazel had stopped having violent panic attacks like this. But Jess told him about the ones Hazel had when they were in high school still. They would get so bad that Hazel was prescribed a sedative that they taught Jess to use. But they stopped giving them to her as the panic attacks lessened. So Sam stands and grabs Hazel's phone from the nightstand. He quickly dials Loki.

“Hazel?” Loki puzzles when he picks up.

“No.” Sam says clipped. “I need help. Hazel is having a panic attack and doesn’t recognize me.”

Loki doesn’t say anything else as he hangs up and appears in the room with them. “Sweetheart?” Loki calls as he tries the same thing Sam did, and gets the same reaction. Loki frowns. Then almost too fast for Sam to see, he taps her forehead, putting her to sleep. “My version of a sedative. She shouldn’t wake till morning. What happened?” Loki asks more concerned and curious than angry as he picks her up and places her on the bed so she is curled on her side.

“I honestly have no idea.” Sam replies. “We were asleep. I woke when she sat up, but I thought she was just going to go to the bathroom,so I settled back to wait. I heard a series of two thumps so I got up to check on her, and she was kneeling in the middle of the floor. When I tried to reach her she crawled back away from me till her back hit the bed. Then I called you.”

Loki sighs and pulls a bright red lollipop, sans wrapper, out of thin air. “My guess is that she had a nightmare. Problem with being psychic is that sometimes normal nightmares feel like visions. Best just to wait till morning and talk to her. There has been a handful of times where this has happened, though not to this extreme. Message me when before you wake her up so I can be here.” He doesn’t wait for a response,just snaps his fingers and disappears. 

Sam sighs and runs his right hand through his hair. He gets back into bed, rolls onto his right side and pulls Hazel close, burying his nose in her hair before falling back asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

As usual, Sam is the first to wake, even with the interruption last night. He decides that since he missed out on a run yesterday, he would go for on today. He quickly changes into a pair of grey gym shorts and a grey workout sleeveless shirt. He pads downstairs and does up his shoes before grabbing the small pad of paper off Bobby’s desk. He quickly writes a note and leaves it on the kitchen table before he sets off.

When Sam gets back an hour later, Bobby is in the kitchen starting a pot of coffee. He looks like he just rolled out of bed. Bobby glances at Sam as he enters the kitchen then look pointedly down to the note on the table. 

Sam sighs as he drops heavily into a seat at the table. He runs his hand through his sweaty hair without thinking and pulls a face when he realizes what he did. “Its for Dean.” Sam finally says.

At Bobby’s raised eyebrows, Sam sighs and continues. “After the fire, I was a mess. Then one night about a month later, after we killed Bloody Mary, I decided drinking was a good idea.” Bobby snorts a laugh at that and Sam smiles up at him. The he looks back down at the table and begins picking at it. “I didn’t get drunk, but it was enough to loosen my tongue. I yelled a Dean. Asked him why he didn’t leave me there, should have left me there.” Sam shakes his head to clear it of the depressing thoughts. “The next morning I woke up, needed to clear my head. So I went for a run, the first one since. I was probably gone two hours but I worked through a lot of shit. When I got back Dean was freaked. I left before he woke up, didn’t leave a note, hadn’t done that before, and with the conversation the night before, he assumed the worst. So, I leave a note.”

Bobby just shakes his head and mutters “Idjuts.” The gets up, pours himself a cup of coffee then turns to Sam. “Go shower boy, you ain’t going anywhere near my library till you do.” Sam smiles up at him then gets up and heads upstairs. 

A glance into Dean’s room shows Dean sprawled face down, covers falling off the bed. Sam just shakes his head and smiles as he presses thoughts about his big brother’s deal to the back of his head for awhile. He then turns and heads to his room. Hazel has curled into a ball with his pillow clutched in her arms. Sam smiles a softer smile for her. He goes and bushes the few stray strands of hair off her face and leans down to brush a whisper soft kiss on her forehead. “Love you Baby.” he whispers so quiet even he can barely hear it. Then he turns and gathers clothes from his bag, noting that he doesn’t have much left clean. Figures it's probably the same for Dean. Sam sighs as he heads to the bathroom, he knows he will be doing laundry later. Sam wonders how his brother survived without him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the sound of the shower turning on, Dean turns over with a snort and blinks awake. He rolls out of bed and rummages around for his dirtiest jeans and tee. He has maintance to do on his Baby, and he knows that Hazel’s Jeep needs work. Sam can look all he wants, but Dean knows there is no way out of this deal. He gets it now though. He couldn’t live without his brother, but now Sam has to live without him. At least they found Hazel, so Sam won’t be alone. Hell, by the looks of it, he will have Loki looking after him. Dean snorts at that thought and shakes his head to dispel that train of thought. He gets up and heads downstairs for coffee and to see what he can throw together for breakfast.

When he gets down there, Loki has already made an appearance, and has with him what looks like what you would imagine a direwolf to look like, grey and white and huge. Bobby has already moved to his desk, where Dean knows he will probably stay unless made to move. Old man is just as bad as Sam when it comes to getting lost in research.

“Hey Dean-o!” Loki greets then turns to the wolf “Fenrir, go wake your sister, but be nice about it, she had a rough night.”

Dean swears he can see the raised eyebrow expression on Fenrir’s face. 

“Not that kind of rough night you perverted mutt, now get going.” and he kicks Fenrir’s rear as the wolf slowly gets up and pads up the stairs. Shortly after he leaves, another wolf, almost identical to Fenrir pads in the kitchen and sits down and Loki’s feet. “All clear Vali?” Loki asks this one. 

Dean swears this one shakes his head yes.

“So, Dean-o, what would you like for breakfast?” Loki asks with a smile that is only partly mischievous. “Let me guess.” And at that he snaps.

Instantly, in front of Dean, appears two plates. One has a stack of three pancakes. The other has two over easy eggs, two sausage links, a pile of home fries and two slices of toast. A pitcher of syrup and cup of coffee on the other side of the plates.

“Awesome, thanks.” Dean smiles wide before digging in with relish. Maybe having Loki around won’t be so bad after all, if he keeps providing food like this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upstairs, Fenrir heads for Hazel, knowing by scent right where she is. He pads quietly over to her and licks her cheek to wake her up. 

Hazel sighs and rolls over muttering “Ugh, Fen, I don’t want to get up yet.” Her sleeping mind not even realizing that Fenrir shouldn’t be there.

Sam, having finished his shower watched it all from the doorway. “Fenrir, you won’t wake her that way.”

Fenrir turns around and tilts his head at Sam. Sam smiles back at him. “Watch”

Sam walks over to the bed, sits on the edge, and places one hand on Hazel’s arm. “Hazel, baby, time to get up. I’m sure there is coffee waiting for you downstairs , and apparently your dad too. Don’t make me tickle you.” Sam winks at Fenrir, and Fenrir huffs like he is laughing.

At that Hazel finally puts two and two together and sits up too quickly, gets dizzy and falls back. “Fen, what are you doing here? And Sam, don’t you dare.” As she mock glares at him.

Sam just smiles back at her and leans forward and places a quick kiss on her lips. “You ok?”

“Yeah, just sat up too fast. I’ll be down in a few.” 

After they leave, Hazel gets up and stretches. She still has some aches from her panic attack last night, but it's nothing a good workout won’t fix and she knows just the thing. She digs through her bag for a pair of black yoga pants and a black sports bra and tank. She also digs out a pair of interesting looking black shoes. They almost look like ballet slippers but sturdier. She puts the Stanford hoodie on over top and pulls her hair into a messy bun. She gives herself a once over and then heads downstairs.

When she gets to the kitchen she sees that Loki has already snapped up food. Dean is still working through his feast, down to just the pancakes. Sam has his favorite, and egg white omelet full of spinach, mushrooms, and peppers. And there is a plate for her. Two over easy eggs, three strips of bacon, home fries and two slices of whole wheat toast. She smiles her thanks to her Dad then sits and eats, stopping only when her dad hands her four pills to take.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After they are all done and just have coffee in front of them, Loki hands Hazel a bank bag. “This should solve the money issue. Open it.” Hazel does and sees a small stack of bills. Loki explains “There is a thousand dollars in there. Take out what you need, next time you open it, there will be a thousand dollars in it.”

“Dad,” Hazel starts to protest but Loki cuts her off. “Nope. You will use this. I left your account open and you can still use it, but I really don’t want you using that when you are hunting. Hunting requires a lot of illegal things and you don’t need your real name mixed in. Cash is safer. Also this way you will never run out. This shouldn’t work for anyone but you three, but don’t lose it” 

Hazel smiles and nods. The other two are shocked and it shows on their faces. Loki just smiles a smile that translates into “I have my reasons but I am not sharing.” Realization dawns on Sam, Loki wants to take care of Hazel, and he knows that they will too, they won’t take advantage of her. And, heaven forbid, anything were to happen and they didn’t have money for a room or medical care.

Loki then straightens up. “I am sure you guys have more questions., so ask.”

Sam and Dean glance at each other then back at Loki. Then Sam starts, “I want to know why I couldn’t find Hazel after. I did everything I could too, and I am mean everything.” Dean looks at Sam funny at that but Sam ignores him. 

Loki sighs. “Going to need some backstory, and I do want to know what you mean by everything.” Loki replies with an eyebrow arched. “But story first. Jorm is the only one of my children to be married. These two might as well be.” And he tilts his head towards the two wolfs laid between him and Hazel. “Vali isn’t mine, not biologically. Jorm was just a baby when Fen and I found him half dead of starvation in the woods. Been mine since. Fen, Jorm, and Hel are the only three that are biologically mine. Then there is the one that Hazel calls “Older Brother” and there is my lost boy that I don’t know where he is. But anyway. Jorm’s wife, Mara, can’t have kids in the waters of Asgard. Too deep and cold. She has to come here. Couple hundred years ago when she came to have the twins it was safe. Sphax and Jinx are the equivalent of eighteen year old boys now. Shortly after you guys moved into the apartment, Mara came here, to have triplet girls. A week or so before the fire, they were found by a group of humans. They killed the girls and left Mara to die, but she called for me. I couldn’t save the girls, but I could Mara.” Tears have gathered at the corners of Loki’s eyes but he was holding back. “The healing process was taking awhile, so Jorm took the boys to Hel. Hel, asked Hazel to come help, which was where she was that weekend. While we have gotten cell phones to work in Asgard and at Hel’s castle, They still don’t work at Jorm’s or at their place.” Again with the head tilt to the wolves. “By the time word got to me Hazel had gone off on a drive to nowhere. I convinced her to come back to Asgard.”

Hazel continues the story. “They finally convinced me to go back to school. I couldn’t go back to Stanford, so I kinda just closed my eyes and threw a dart at a map. Closest school to where the dart landed, I went. Thats where you first met Dad; he came with me. That first professor, decided to try to rape me when I told him I was going to the school board with the tape I made of him telling me that even though I went above and beyond for the midterm, he was going to fail me unless I had sex with him.”

Loki cuts in. “Yeah, I may have been just a little bit pissed off. I usually don’t kill my targets, but that guy was lucky I didn’t let her brothers take care of him.” Fenrir huffs at that, like he is still pissed he didn’t get to take a bite out of the guy. “Before that I had been good. Only minor pranks that wouldn’t bring attention. After that, I knew I had caught someone's attention, so I figured I would take care of the other two. The kid, that prank is more my style. He learned from that. The last, I got Sphax and Jinx to play the sewer monsters. Should have just conjured something. They still are upset. Only human they will talk to is Hazel. They killed him before I could stop them. Figured once our song and dance was done, I would disappear for a bit, check on Mara, come back looking different. Mara had taken a turn for the worse. I had no idea Hazel had left the school and was hunting of all things.”

Hazel looked sheepish. “Shortly after you left, a bunch of demons came snooping around. I knew I had to leave, knew I couldn’t stay in one place for too long. I called Hel, told her.”

“Yeah, hadn’t gone to see her yet when your summons came. Bet you scared the townsfolk when you rattled off the spell in the original Norse from the top of your head.”

Hazel grinned a grin that was pure trickster. “Oh yeah. I thought a few were gonna pass out. Do you know how hard it was to keep up the hopeless expression? The first guy came and told me I was to be a sacrifice to better the town. That wasn’t too bad. But then when his wife handed me a shity translation of that spell I wanted to cackle in glee. Granted I was freezing, but.”

“OK, Sam, your turn.” Loki says abruptly.

“Yeah Sam, your turn.” Dean replies like he knows without knowing.

Sam sighs. “Well, I had computer searches going. Some legal, others not so much. Then I found a locator spell but the map of the US burned up completely. So I tried it again with a world map. It burned completely too.” Sam wobbled his head like he knew Dean wasn’t going to like what he said next. I called Missouri, she told me how to scry. Told me to use water first. Nothing but a headache. Called her back, she told me to try blood. Tried that a few times, All I got was fuzzy pictures that I really couldn't make anything out and a general feeling of her overall well being. But I knew at least she was alive and generally well.”

Dean looks pissed. Loki and Hazel look somewhat stunned. Bobby, who had come in for a coffee refill a while ago and had stayed to listen, leaning in the doorway, muttered “idjut” and took a seat.

Loki spoke up first. “If I didn’t believe you two were soulmates already, I would now.” He gives a slow shake of his head. “You shouldn’t have been able to even get that much Sam. There are spells in place over Hazel that hides her from everything. So the fact that you got that much is amazing. We can change it though, make it so that you can, just in case.”

“That would be, ah, good.” Sam replies. Then looks over at Dean. Dean gives him a look that means “I won’t get into this now in front of others, but we are going to talk about this the first chance we get.” Sam just nods his head in response to Dean’s unspoken comment.

Then Sam remembers Broward County, and asks “What was with the Mystery Spot?”

Loki gives a long suffering sigh. “I wasn’t in a good frame of mind. Needed to let out my frustrations, so I came to prank some people before I had to go back and deal with my daughter-in-laws sever depression and my bastard little brother, Baldur. I was just planning to do a few pranks then go back, but then you two showed up, and I knew what happened, what's coming, and I decided to try to do something about it. And while, I will admit that I went about it the wrong way, hence the song every morning. But you still didn’t get it.” He looks pointedly at Sam.

“I got it, I just don’t believe that's all there is to it.” Sam replied.

Loki sighed. “After it was done, I went to check in on Mara. Then I went to try to figure out why you never gave up. Ever wonder why you two have such a strong bond? Why you two are practically in sync with each other?”

Dean piped up, “I practically raised the kid.”

“Not practically, you did, Dean-o. You are Sam’s older brother, but you are also both his parents, and his best friend. And as if that wasn’t enough, another bond was formed the night of your mother’s death. A mother’s sacrifice is powerful. And instead of taking Sam and running, John handed him to you. Basically giving him up, to you. You two have every bond two people can have, except one. That’s unheard of. Then add the other and I understood. We may just win this”

“Dad?” Hazel asks. She knows he doesn’t want to get involved, hates the fighting, but here he is taking a side, their side.

Loki ignores her for the moment, not really wanting to out himself yet. He addresses the boys and their surrogate father, “You do know what is coming?”

Without missing a beat Sam responds “The Apocalypse.” Meanwhile, Dean and Bobby look confused.

“Yup, ‘fraid so. Now I need to go look into a few things and call in a few favors to get more information. Call me if something comes up.” And with a snap he and the wolves are gone.

Dean, trying to make light of everything, says jokingly, “The Apocalypse? Kind of glad I’m going to miss it!” Everyone sees right through it though. Sees the way he is worrying, for the first time, about leaving Sam to deal with this all. Dean glances at Sam expecting to see his “I can’t believe my brother just said that” face. Instead he sees Sam’s “I just found the missing piece to the puzzle and now I know what the picture is” face. And that worries him a bit.

Bobby gets up, pours himself more coffee and then heads back to his books without saying anything. 

Hazel’s phone starts playing “Devil Went Down to Georgia” and she jumped up and ran outside to answer it.

Dean looks at Sam and says, “Grab the money and let’s go. We got work to do on the cars, and we need to talk.”

Sam sighs but nods his head and does what Dean asks. They pass Hazel on their way to the garage. Neither can understand her as she has lapsed into a language neither of them recognize. Sam briefly gets her attention and points with the money bag to the cars to tell her what they are going to be doing. Hazel nods and starts to walk the other direction towards the road.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once on the porch, Hazel answers her phone, “Ello?”

Hello Little Dove. You called?

“Yeah Mal. I need some info on a crossroads deal.” (She had called yesterday when they stopped for gas and left a message.)

Oh? And whose would that be Darling?

“Dean Winchester.”

How in the seven bloody hells did you get caught up with the Winchesters?

Hazel switches to a bastardized form of Enochian that is commonly known as “Hell speak” “I have known Sam since Stanford Mal. But we ran into each other on a hunt two days ago. I’m in this too, might as well pool our resources.”

When you put it that way,it makes sense. And there is no breaking his deal. The cheated him on purpose. Where are you?

“Outside Sioux Falls,South Dakota. A place called Singer Salvage Yard.”

I know where it is. Meet meat the entrance.”

“Will do. Have some time for a spar?” Hazel is smiling now.

Always Little Dove. Be there in five.

The line goes dead so Hazel puts her phone in the pouch of the hoodie and walks down the drive to meet Mal. True to his word, It is only five minutes and Mal is standing in front of her, in his usual black ensemble. A finely tailored black suit, black vest over a black dress shirt, and a blood red tie. He has a sword on each hip and two more in his hand. 

“Ello Little Dove.” He says as he places the swords on the ground and pulls her in for a hug. “Hows my favorite little sister?”

“Mal.” Hazel says as she returns the hug and buries her face in the crook of his neck.

Mal just grips her tighter. “That bad huh?”

Hazel just shakes her head yes, not moving more than that.

After another moment, he pulls away and looks at her concerned, “Dad didn’t find out did he?”

“No but it's going to be soon. And Sam, I ca-can’t lose them Mal.” Her breath hitching as she tries desperately not to cry.

“Ok, since when do we know him?”

Hazel smiles. “Who do you think I was telling you about when I was at Stanford?”

Mal just looks floored for a moment, then clears his throat. “OK. Dean's deal.” He starts as he gathers the swords back up and they head back into the jungle of junker cars. Hazel making sure to head away from the garage.

Once they find a decent open space they stop and Mal continues. “Lilith wouldn’t let me deal, or I would have gone myself. I finally got my hands on it last week. It's thicker than any one I have made. I honestly don’t think it could be broken in the usual ten years, Let alone the five that mine can be. The way they are supposed to be. And they only gave him a year! You know what this means.”

“He’s the Righteous Man. Sam’s the Boy King. Great. Well, at least he won’t be down there till he turns. Have you talked to Hel?”

“Yes. She is ready to try to deal. As soon as he hits the pit. But I doubt I will be making that decision.”

Hazel looks worried. “Have you been found out do you think?”

Mal smile at her. “No Little Dove. Don’t worry. I’m still safe. Lilith is just controlling it all so nothing goes wrong, and I am guessing to get under Sam’s skin. Considering the Boy King doesn’t want his crown.”

“Can you blame him? I don’t want mine either.”

“I know Darling. We’ll figure something out.”

“How is he?” Hazel asks seemingly changing the subject without warning. But Mal knows what she means. Having her ask this question almost every time they talk.

“He’s fine. He still believes he is a normal boy. If anything changes, you will be the first one I come to. Now, let's blow off some steam shall we? Usual rules apply?” He says as he carefully removes his suit jacket and drapes it over the cleanest junker he could find.

“Yeah.” Hazel replies as she follows suit and removes the hoodie, careful not to drop her phone. Then she picks up one of the swords from the ground and moves a few paces away. Mal pulls the sword on his left hip free and they both take up fighting stances. A moment later, almost as one, the fight begins.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as the door to the garage is shut, Dean turns on Sam. “Spells, scrying, what the hell were you thinking Sam?” Dean practically yelled in Sam’s face.

Sam sighs, he knew Dean was upset, but he didn’t think he was angry. “I had to find her Dean.”

Dean shakes his head. “I know you wanted to find her, make sure she is safe, but doing spells, and scrying! Sam, what if something went wrong? And blood Sam? Where in the world did you get enough blood to scry? You weren’t thinking were you?” Dean is in Sam’s face yelling now.

Sam is starting to get angry. “My blood Dean.” He says as he unbuttons and rolls up the left sleeve of his flannel and shows Dean the underside of his left arm. About two inches from the crease of his elbow there is a two inch long scar that runs parallel to the crease. It looks like it has been opened and carefully stitched more than once. “I was doing the scrying, it had to be my blood. I was always careful. It didn’t take more than you would donate and I made sure to leave enough time between attempts for the blood to replenish.” Sam rolls his sleeve back down but doesn’t button it. “As for thinking” Sam is starting to yell, not so much angry as for Dean to understand. “I was thinking my big brother is going to be leaving me alone up here and I didn’t want to be alone. Didn’t want her to be alone even if we killed the demon, I was still so scared that she wasn’t safe. And I was desperate to find her. Nothing was working” Tears have gathered in the corners of her eyes and Sam looks down, hiding his face behind his hair so Dean doesn’t see how close he is to breaking down.

“Sammy.” Dean says, anger spent now that he sees how much his Sammy has been suffering. Dean steps forward and grab Sam into desperate bear hug. 

Sam can’t hold back his tears any longer. He has been trying to be strong for so long, but all he wanted was for his big brother to hold him close, tell him everything was going to be fine, even if it wasn’t. 

Dean held Sam until he could compose himself. When Sam has, he pulls away just enough to wipe the tears from his cheeks. “Baby Boy…” Dean says as he puts their foreheads together. Sam still clutching at his sides, still not fully composed. Especially since Dean called him that, called him what he used to when they were growing up and they were each other’s entire world.

Dean gave a sigh of relief that that didn’t blow up in his face. Ever since he got his Sammy back he had wanted this closeness back, that they always had before Sam went away to Stanford. He hadn’t known what Sam wanted, didn’t know how to bring it up. Then Loki explained why Dean felt the way he did about his Sammy, and Dean figured that maybe Sam felt the same way. Looks like he was right.

After a few minutes of just stand in each other’s space and breathing each other’s air, they started to hear a clanging outside. Dean started to pull away, but not quite as far as he used to. Sam kept one hand fisted in his flannel at his side. 

“Do you hear that Sammy?” Dean asks curiously. He can think of nothing in the scrap yard that would make that sound.

“Yeah De. What do you think it is?” Sam responds.

Dean smiles a bit about Sam breaking out his old nickname for him, “I don’t know Sammy, but let’s go find out.” 

They follow the sound out of the garage, around the front of the house, to the other side of the scrap yard. When they arrive, they are stunned at the sight that greets them. Hazel, stripped of Sam’s large hoodie, dressed in tight black pants and tank, sword fighting a man dressed in an all black suit except for his blood red tie. The smiles on their faces let the boys know that this isn’t a real fight, just an elaborate dance so the boys sit back to watch. Dean focuses on the fight, while Sam is focused on Hazel.

Sam is a bit startled when Dean lightly smacks his arm. Sam gives him a slight bitchface but softens when Dean gestures behind them to a junker where they can sit on the hood and watch. Sam figures they had been going for about fifteen or twenty minutes when Hazel ducks in tight and grabs the sword on the man’s right hip and pulls it from the scabbard as she spins away.

The man cracks a smile. “Good, your getting better.” he says as he walks over to where his jacket is laid. But instead of grabbing it, he grabs another sword off the ground. “Shall we?” he asks as he moves back to face Hazel again. Hazel just smiles and goes on the offensive.

The fight lasts for another fifteen minutes or so when it starts to change. The man seems to be making stronger blows. Once that happens, it isn’t long before Hazel is completely disarmed. “Very good Little Dove.” The man praises. “You are getting much better.”

Hazel beams at the praise. “Now if we could just find the time to do this more often.. I might be able to beat you by now!” she exclaims as she picks up one of her lost swords as he picks up the other.

“There is always Hel.” he replies.

“Please, I have been beating her for a few years now. And, no, I am not asking Uncle Thor either.” she replies as she hands the swords over.

“Not Thor. You know he is more brute strength.” Then quieter. “Ask dad”

“Maybe. But he is going to want to know where I learned what I have. And what do I tell him. He misses you, you know.”

“I know. But just a bit longer, yeah? Once they start getting suspicious. Until then, I can find out what they are planning.”

Hazel sighs. “Alright, just, stay safe. And don’t get caught. Promise me, at the first sign, you will run. Please?”

The man leans down and kisses her cheek. “Of course Little Dove.” Then he straightens up. puts on his jacket, gathers the swords, and says with a smile “Till next time.” The he snaps and is gone.

Hazel turns slowly to face Sam and Dean. Sam looks like he is puzzling things out. And probably correctly knowing him. Dean just looks pissed. And its Dean that speaks first, “You brought something in here to, what, spar with?”

Hazel sighs as she moves closer. “Not just to dance, no. I called him for intel.”

“What kind of intel could you possibly..” Dean starts.

Hazel cuts him off. “Look. Over half my contacts are not human. And the ones that are? Are the ones calling me for help. When I need help, I usually go to one of my siblings.”

Sam smiles. “That was the lost boy that Loki was talking about.”

Hazel looks a bit startled at that. “How you make these connections so fast with so little information is scary Sam. But yes. And please don’t tell dad. Mal is kinda hiding.”

“So what intel was so important that you couldn’t wait to get it? Dean asks still kinda pissed.

“It was about your deal jackass.” Hazel seethes. “Mal isn’t really a demon, but he is hiding and pretending. He has made it up to the King of the Crossroads so I figured he would be the one to ask. Except Lillith is a royal Bitch with a capital B and is controlling your deal exclusively. Mal just saw it. And while it is possible to break a normal deal. They screwed you royally and Mal says it can’t be broken. Not before a normal ten years anyway.” Hazel deflates at that unsure how much she should say.

“So that's it then? There is no way out?” Dean asks. And, yeah he had been resigning himself to this, but to hear it said by someone else…

“Not entirely.” Hazel replies. And at their incredulous looks she continues. “Hel is owed souls. She never wanted the damned souls that were sent to her. So, she let hell borrow them. Hell has racked up quite the IOU. She can’t deal till you are there. But she is going to try the moment you get there. To trade all the souls owed her for you.”

“Why?” Dean asks.

It is Sam that answers. “To stop the apocalypse.”

“What?!?” Dean asks, practically shouts.

“Think about it Dean. I am the Boy King. As much as I don’t want to be.” Dean gave him a dark look. “Don’t look at me like that De, we both know it's true. But the party won’t really get started till a righteous man sheds blood in hell and breaks the first seal on the cage. I’m guessing they want you.”

“Wait, what?” Dean asked.

“The first seal shall be broken when a righteous man sheds blood in Hell. As he breaks so shall it break.” Hazel says almost as if in a trance.

“Oh kay. Maybe we better go in and you two can explain this to me. Over lunch. After you shower.” He says as he points to Hazel. Then pushes off the junker and heads to the house. 

Sam pushes off the junker and heads toward Hazel. “That was pretty awesome.”

Hazel looks down shyly. She still finds it difficult to receive complements. Sam reaches for her with his left hand and pulls her close. His right hand goes under her chin to lift her face to meet his. It takes her a few seconds of looking into his eyes before she relaxes against him. As soon as she does, he leans forward and kisses her, infusing as much love as he can in the kiss. When they break apart, she leans her forehead on his chest and he just holds her for a few long moments before gently prodding her towards the house.


End file.
